Lawyer Ruben Mkhitaryan was carrying out his professional duties during the events at the Gyumri City Hall two days ago, but he was summoned and arrested. This incident is regarded as an obstruction of legal practice, said Bar Association head Simon Babayan at a press conference on October 24.

The preventive measure was applied in connection with the performance of his professional duties, which is inconsistent with a democratic state, Babayan emphasized.

Speaking about the cases of Mkhitaryan and another lawyer, Alexander Kochubayev, Babayan stressed that these actions harm the interests of the clients of the lawyers. In addition to violating the rights of the lawyers themselves, the rights of third parties are also infringed upon, which international bodies, such as the European Court of Human Rights, pay special attention to.

“It should be noted that recently, attacks on lawyers and legal practice have intensified. This affects the quality of legal assistance,” Simon Babayan stated. Drawing parallels with the situation in 2018, the head of the Bar Association noted that the rights of lawyers were not violated on such a scale back then.